News & Politics

They’re Here: First Pups Major and Champ Biden Have Moved Into the White House

And yes, they bark while their owner's on camera while WFH.

First German Shepherd Champ Biden with Jill Biden. Photograph by Adam Schultz/White House

Major and Champ Biden got to Washington yesterday and moved into the White House, following four pet-free years at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Champ trots into the White House on January 24, 2021. Photograph by Adam Schultz/White House

The First Family has had Champ, 12, since late 2008, just before Joe Biden became VP. His name came from Biden granddaughters Finnegan and Maisy. Major, a rescue, joined the family in 2018. The President has an affinity for German Shepherds because he grew up with the breed.

Major Biden is a rescue. Photograph by Adam Schultz/White House

According to a statement from First Lady Jill Biden’s office, Major was pretty stoked to be running around the South Lawn yesterday, while Champ was content to hang out in his new bed by the fireplace. “The First Family wanted to get settled,” FLOTUS’s office told CNN, “before bringing the dogs down to Washington from Delaware.”

Major Biden on the South Lawn of the White House. Photograph by Adam Schultz/White House

That is all your breaking news in Presidential pets for today, folks. Update: Or…not. Just before 2 PM, C-SPAN’s Howard Mortman tweeted some footage from the Oval Office today, in which the dogs can be heard barking in the background.

And because it seemed so abnormally normal, DC Twitter got kind of excited.

 

 

Kristen Hinman
Articles Editor

Kristen Hinman has been editing Washingtonian’s features since 2014. She joined the magazine after editing politics & policy coverage for Bloomberg Businessweek and working as a staff writer for Voice Media Group/Riverfront Times.